Tissue Cultured Endothelium for Vascular Prosthetic Devices

摘要

Seeding and culturing techniques have been developed for achieving complete, continuous and uniform endothelial cell linings on fabricated Model 10 pump bladders. Autologous endothelial cell lines have been established for in vivo tube and pump bladder implantations. All existing cell stocks have been maintained in liquid nitrogen at levels needed for experimentation. Chronic implantations of Model 10 LVAD's have demonstrated that the endothelial prelinings were initially lost and then later regenerated. The resulting endothelialized surfaces were thrombus-free and extended over most of the inner bladder surface. Unlike nonseeded specimens, the prelined bladders were not characterized by either pseudointimal tissue proliferation or calcification. Following in vivo implantation, endothelial prelinings on static aortic tubes adopted alternative properties which included a decrease in thickness, polarization and a decrease in cell proliferation. Results from other investigations have indicated a potential application of glutaraldehyde-treated cultured linings as a blood interface on cardiovascular devices for heterologous implantation.